About the Rotator cuff
The Shoulder – or better the shoulder girdle- consists of five joints, allowing it to have a very large range of motion to be able to effectively carry out the jobs we need to do In everyday life. However due to this large range of motion, it means that the shoulder is less stable compared to other joints in the body. It therefore, needs muscle to provide stability to the joint. Your rotator cuff provides this stability.
The rotator cuff provides this stability. The rotator cuff exists of four muscles: Subscapularis, Teres Minor, Supraspinatus and Infraspinatus.
During shoulder movement the rotator cuff muscles act together to stabilise the humeral head within the glenoid in a process known as concavity compression. But what happens if if these muscles get injured?
How does the rotator cuff get injured?
Rotator cuff injuries (lesions) can occur from a single episode of violent or rapid force, for example, falling on an outstretched arm labelled as an acute tear. Acute tear patients report severe pain and swelling and could indicate a full-thickness tear, where the tendon is completely detached from its insertion on the bone.
Chronic tears are mostly an indirect result from wear and tear or overuse of the tendon; these may be labelled as a partial tear, where the tendon is damaged but not 100% torn. An example is when the shoulder is used to repeat the same motion repeatedly, like in a workplace from reparative strain injury.
Symptoms of Rotator cuff injury
The location of the tear has an important influence on the possible dysfunctions.
Individuals with a rotator cuff tear may suffer from:
- severe pain at time of injury
- pain at night
- pain with overhead activities
- positive painful arc sign
- weakness of involved muscle
- shoulder stiffness.
Individuals with a tear of the rotator cuff may complain of tenderness over the top of the shoulder, pain located in the front of the shoulder and symptoms radiating down the arm.
How are Rotator cuff injuries treated with Osteopathy?
Osteopaths would treat these injuries by looking to reduce pain and muscular tension around the shoulder blade and neck area to help improve the mobility of the region as a whole. They would also look at strengthening the surrounding areas to in order to unload the injured muscles, which would be done by exercise rehabilitation and building co-ordination through the rotator cuff as a whole to avoid any reoccurrence of the injury.
If you feel this might be something you are suffering with, book an appointment at The OsteoSuite today on 07804907281 or press “BOOK NOW” at the top of the page and we will get to the bottom of your pain.
